Pusan side events under way

Bifcom, PPP off to busy start

Pusan moved into high gear as the Busan Film Commission and Industry Showcase (Bifcom) kicked off on Saturday, while the Pusan Promotion Plan for projects bowed on Sunday.

Busan, which takes its name from the seaside resort’s modern moniker rather than the ancient Pusan name that the fest goes by, will host 49 teams from nine countries over three days at Bifcom, with Japan particularly strongly represented by 14 local film commissions and two industry organizations.

The Busan Film Commission and New Zealand’s Film Auckland signed a memo of understanding for collaborations, Busan’s second with a foreign film commission after the pact with Japan’s Sapporo Film Comission in 2008.

PPP has invited 27 projects from 24 countries, including works in progress by Tsai Ming-liang (“The Diary of a Young Boy”), Oxide Pang (“The Psycho Virus”) and Xie Fei (“Red Coal”).

Taiwan’s Tsai is also the recipient of the Asian filmmaker of the year award at the Pusan fest.